Kimi Antonelli completed a Friday sweep at the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, setting the pace in Free Practice 2 at the Red Bull Ring ahead of McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

The Mercedes driver’s best lap of 1:07.014 put him 0.237s clear of Piastri, with Norris a further 0.088s back in third. Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull Racing, 0.550s off the benchmark, while Lewis Hamilton took fifth for Ferrari, just 0.014s ahead of George Russell in the second Mercedes.

The session began with Nico Hülkenberg first out for Audi, followed by team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto, both on Hard tyres. Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson were among the early runners on Mediums, while Alex Albon was soon called back to the Williams garage after reporting a loss of power.

Running was interrupted after just under 10 minutes when Sergio Pérez stopped on track, reporting a repeat of an earlier issue on his Cadillac. The resulting Virtual Safety Car neutralised the session for several minutes, with Verstappen also returning to the pits after reporting discomfort in the cockpit due to a seat issue.

At that stage Norris headed the order on a 1:08.000, 0.249s ahead of team-mate Piastri, before the session resumed and teams moved through their Medium-tyre programmes. There were brief off-track moments for Norris and Franco Colapinto, with the McLaren driver later spinning into the Turn 3 run-off after carrying too much speed into the corner.

Antonelli then moved to the front with a 1:07.657 before the Soft-tyre runs reshaped the order. Piastri initially set the standard on the C5 compound with a 1:07.251, while Hamilton slotted into second, 0.360s adrift of the McLaren.

Antonelli responded with a lap 0.042s faster than Piastri and then improved again to his definitive 1:07.014, extending his advantage at the front. Norris ended up 0.325s off top spot and 0.088s behind Piastri, while Verstappen’s best placed him 0.225s down on Norris.

Russell improved late on but remained sixth, 0.623s behind team-mate Antonelli on the short Spielberg lap. Behind him, Isack Hadjar was seventh, ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lawson and Bortoleto, who completed the top 10.

Cadillac endured a difficult session, with Pérez failing to set a time and Valtteri Bottas limited to six laps after returning slowly to the pits with sparks, smoke and then flames visible beneath his car.

As the field switched to longer runs in the final phase, Antonelli remained unchallenged, ending the day fastest for Mercedes in both Friday sessions.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:07.014 32 232.393
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:07.251 0.237 32 231.574
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:07.339 0.325 32 231.271
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:07.564 0.550 29 230.501
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:07.611 0.597 33 230.341
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:07.637 0.623 25 230.252
7 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:07.758 0.744 28 229.841
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:07.855 0.841 35 229.512
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:08.235 1.221 34 228.234
10 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:08.300 1.286 30 228.017
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:08.376 1.362 33 227.764
12 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:08.378 1.364 29 227.757
13 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:08.532 1.518 33 227.245
14 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:08.559 1.545 32 227.156
15 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:08.830 1.816 33 226.261
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:08.831 1.817 30 226.258
17 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:08.838 1.824 34 226.235
18 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:09.131 2.117 30 225.276
19 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:10.544 3.530 27 220.764
20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:10.698 3.684 32 220.283
21 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:11.307 4.293 6 218.402
22 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari - 2